Victoria tops Christie’s luxury housing markets list

Victoria has landed the top spot on Christie’s global list of hottest luxury housing markets.

The real estate arm of the famed auction company says strong year-over-year sales growth and high domestic demand for housing catapulted the Vancouver Island community to lead a list of cities around the world on the annual list.

Trailing Victoria on last year’s list are San Diego and Orange County, Calif., followed by Washington D.C. and Paris.

Christie’s says the Victoria market earned such a high ranking because it is seeing an influx of buyers from the United States and China and sales rates that rival frenzied and neighbouring markets Toronto and Vancouver.

It says the average time it took to sell a luxury property in Victoria last year was only 32 days, down from 41 days in 2016, making it one of the most fast-paced markets in the world.

Christie’s also listed Toronto in the ninth spot on its list of most luxurious global cities for prime property and Muskoka, Ont. in the second position for its rankings of the hottest secondary home markets.